Airing on the Side of Lift

1. You are speaking with a friend with absolutely no aviation background whatsoever. He asks you how airplanes get off the ground. Based on your friend’s background, explain lift so that he can understand it.

2. Now you are speaking with a student pilot. You are the flight instructor. The student has about 15 hours of logged time and just cannot understand the theory behind an aerodynamic stall. Explain it so that this student pilot can understand the topic.

3. You’ve been asked to fill in for a fellow ground instructor who was supposed to teach aerodynamics to a group of commercial pilot students. The first question you are asked is, “how can we estimate the amount of lift we will create at various altitude and airspeeds?” Answer the question, and answer it thoroughly.